I hate car keys that don’t actually have a physical home inside their vehicle, but that’s more a fault of my own idiocy than engineering. The key to the Aston Martin DB11 V12, however, is so dang large that I thought somebody at the company was playing a joke on me.
I might as well admit that I have a bad history keeping track of car keys and something of a reputation with the people who deliver test cars. “Don’t lose this one, seriously,” a new friend said as he handed me the heavy fob to Aston Martin’s $200,000 super cruiser.
I didn’t think I was in much danger of disappointing the guy, though, as the key barely fit in the pocket of my pants that are probably too tight.
Naturally I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d purposefully given me a special dunce key, but a quick trip to Aston Martin’s website confirms that yeah, no, its new keys are just loud and proud. And large.
I spent the last few days revisiting the DB11 V12 and will be driving the new V8 variant next week, after which I’ll treat you to a more comprehensive evaluation of each and how they compare.
But, meanwhile, enjoy the comical proportions of Aston’s hands-free key fob. It’s no crystal, but it certainly makes an impression if you leave it sitting on a table.
The thrilling conclusion to this stupid story is that I did still manage to lose the key, as it slipped out of my pocket (so many times!) and into the no-man’s land between the DB11’s beautifully sculpted seat and thickly-carpeted transmission tunnel.
Yeah, excavating that took a shamefully long period of time.
When you’re not worried about being able to open or start it, though, the DB11 is a masterpiece machine.